Bookish (and not so bookish) Thoughts

1. Went to the Marilyn exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery this week. The pieces on display were predominantly from Marilyn’s movies. I loved the exhibition but I’ve also always liked the pictures of her reading. She was, by all accounts, a great reader with an impressive collection of books.

2. The new Wheeler Centre schedule is out. I snapped up tickets to Hanya Yanagihara and now considering what else to go to – Paul Kelly*? Jeanette Winterson**? Jonathan Franzen***?

3. Banshee is so far from my usual scene and yet I can’t stop watching. Final season is about to start.

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16 responses

Jonathan Tropper, a co-creator of “Banshee”, is one of my favorite American novelists…funny, irreverent, and insightful. Unfortunately, he hasn’t published anything since the series began.

Banshee is bizarre in concept and execution…especially if you’re familiar with the Amish culture; they’re pacifists and neo-Luddites who reside mostly in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It’s a shamefully addictive series.

Though I went to college with Jonathan Franzen, and should be a fan, I find his work unreadable…so, I’d personally pass on those tickets.

I love Tropper as well (which is why I started watching Banshee in the first place). Now that it’s finished maybe he’ll get back to writing novels?
Franzen falls in the love to hate category for many. I really loved The Corrections, the others were fine but I didn’t rave. Haven’t read his latest.

THere’s some good stuff here! Boaty Mc illustrates all the reasons why there shouldn’t be so much power in social media. Are single gals now on the lookout for guys in very small cars? Ah, Sweet Valley High ….

Marilyn’s list is fairly heavy – I think there were people who claimed it was all for show but I always got the impression (and confirmed by stuff at the exhibition) that in many respects she didn’t care what people thought and was very upfront about her lack of formal education (and that she was trying to catch up).

I’m going to Hanya as well as J-Franz. In an online interview I saw with him he was funny. He is funny, I think, and I found The Corrections very funny. Also liked Freedom, but Purity, not so much at all. I feel sorry for him, everyone hates on him. So I want to go and see how he ‘comes across’.

Excellent, will see you at Hanya as well! I feel the same about Franzen – will suspend my judgement until the talk. Do you think everyone hates on him because apart from being funny and writing some good books, he says things that are deliberately provocative (eg. social media is for losers..,)?

Yes, I do think that. I think he’s one of those people who come across badly in print, or who opens his mouth and speaks and it kind of comes out wrong, even though his views on social media can’t be misinterpreted. I also think because he doesn’t run with the herd he’s perceived as an outsider and people don’t like outliers (usually they leave them alone if the herd has shunned them; but when the outlier shuns the herd, it’s on).

Agree about the herd mentality. I reckon half the issue with Franzen is that he makes inflammatory and derogatory comments about social media (and other authors using it) and then steps away from the ‘arena’ that he purports to have no interest in. Comes across as a bit of a dick move. If he really wanted to be disengaged he could be like Donna Tartt or simply say “I don’t do social media” – no need to bring others down in the process. Which then makes you think that for someone who doesn’t ever use social media, he sure has a lot of opinions about it! I suspect he’s a social media stalker… A Facebook junkie reposting every stupid quiz and meme under a false name 😉